Time for a new Laptop

BoonHauler wrote:

greenrvgreen wrote:
The OP should be aware that the product linked has no OS, DRAM or hard drive, and that an external USB DVD player will be required to install the OS. Those items can add $600 to the price tag--before purchase of the tuner.

Before the OP jumps into a project like this I would strongly recommend taking a look at the current notebook and assessing exactly what is deficient in its performance.

If the tuner is the focus here, buy it and hook it up to your current laptop and decide if the next step is really worth another $600.

Moreover, there is no guarrantee that the new mini will outperform the old laptop. Most of these minis are sold to enthusiasts who have a different measure of success--a lot of these units get bought just for the fun of working on them.

As far as the monitor goes, it sounds like a fine choice. If I were choosing a new monitor I would see if I could get one (cheap) with the VEESA-standard bolt holes in the back. This will make it much easier to mount on a rack or directly to the wall. It will still have a stand.

Good luck!

GreenRV:

Yes, I know that I have to install components for a complete package. One of the things that's attractive to me is tha size of the package.

A laptop will eat up a lot of desk space and at best a 17" screen. The mini will free up the desk top and with a 24" monitor provide much better media viewing.

The model I'm looking at is a 'mount on wall', perfect for my application.

Mlts22:

Thanks for the response, it’s greatly appreciated.

I just found out about uBlock Origin and that looks like the way to go.

I’ll look into MediaMonkey but some say Window Media Center can play ISO files and that I was unaware of and still unsure of.

I think I have the USB TV tuner figured out, it’s a Hauppauge 955Q.

I do have a few external HDD’s already, one 2TB that I have all my ISO files on and a 500MB sitting around that I’m not using. I really don’t have much to backup as I’m really working on getting rid of all the junk I’ve collected over the years so I really don’t see that as an issue going forward. I can just backup to a DVD every now and then.

Yes, I’m looking at a SSD for the programs to reside on and a 1TB HDD as an overflow for the 2TB HDD external I already have.

:)